Today’s Personal and Business Communication Requirements
Key Concepts:
  • The hyperconnected world
  • Internet and IP connectivity
  • Unified communications (UC)
  • Snail mail, store-and-forward messaging, and real-time messaging
  • Business on the World Wide Web
  • The importance of customer service
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
  • Describe what it means to be hyperconnected
  • Explain the benefits of Internet connectivity
  • Define and describe some benefits of unified communications (UC)
  • Contrast snail mail, store-and-forward messaging, and real-time messaging
  • Explain how the World Wide Web changed the way businesses operate
  • Explain how customer service drives business communications
In this lesson, you will learn how personal and business communication requirements have changed and how these changes affect our daily lives. You will learn what it means to be hyperconnected and the benefits of Internet connectivity. You will also learn about the World Wide Web’s impact on business.
DISCOVER
APPLY
CREATE
CONCEPTS
OBJECTIVES
CONTEXT
TECHNOLOGY
UNDERSTANDING
DEMO LAB
HANDS-ON LAB
CHALLENGE
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
COURSE OF ACTION

In this section, you will examine a number of topics related to communications and networking. You will gain insight into the world of a networking specialist.

Concepts: Networks support the evolving communication requirements of many different types of organizations. Today’s networks are required to support an array of real-time communication methods.

Objectives: The objective of networking is to design a network that meets an organization’s performance needs. Networking specialists design networks to solve business problems—not just technical problems. Networks must support an organization’s ability to conduct operations as effectively as possible.

Context: Developments in the area of communication and networking have been, and will continue to be, rapid and ever-changing. You need to be aware of these developments and how this field has emerged in order have a context for today's challenges—and solutions.

Technology: Communications and networking involve the latest developments in technology. A firm grasp of the technology and how the technology meets business goals will provide the expertise you need to be a successful networking specialist.

Understanding: Networking specialists are responsible for designing networks and building the functionality that works best for an organization’s particular needs. Proficient networking specialists possess the skills that enable organizations to meet their goals.

Today’s Personal and Business Communication Requirements
Think about how your methods of communication are different from those of your grandparents, or even your parents. Developments in communication methods have been dramatic over the past century.

These developments have changed the way we interact both personally and in business. Good communication is essential to business. The most innovative organizations include new communication methods in their ongoing business plans.

Click each technology to learn more about how communication has evolved. Next, click the ACTIVITY button to complete a brief exercise.
  • Written documents
  • Telegraphs
  • Telephones
  • Answering machines
  • Facsimile devices/fax machines
  • Beepers/pagers
  • Mobile phones
  • The latest technology
Unified Communications
There are more and more devices connecting to the Internet as well as easier access to the Internet than ever before. This means that users have access to an unprecedented amount of information. Having enormous amounts of data means that useful information can get lost in the noise.

In the past, organizations suffered from the inability to make timely decisions due to a lack of accurate information. Now it seems that the problem is too much information and that making timely decisions is difficult because identifying and interpreting the good information takes so much time.

Click on each of the following items to learn more. Next, click the ACTIVITY button to complete a brief exercise.
  • Business process management (BPM)
  • Unified communications (UC)
  • Benefits of unified communications
Communication Methods
One of the advantages of unified communication (UC) is the effective use of blended communication methods. A robust UC strategy should include snail mail, store-and-forward communication, and real-time communication. Each communication method has advantages and disadvantages in an enterprise communication model.

Click on each communication method to learn more. Next, click the ACTIVITY button to complete a brief exercise.
  • Snail mail
  • Store-and-forward messages
  • Real-time communication
Internet and IP Connectivity
In the 1960s, the United States Department of Defense created a network that grew into what we know as the Internet. In the early days, only military facilities and some academic research labs could access the network. Each time new groups of computers and users joined the network, the nature of the network changed to meet their needs. By the mid-1990s, the Internet had grown to include many businesses and private users. World Wide Web has changed the way we understand and use networks.

In the early years of the Internet, many segments of the network used analog media. Network devices translated messages from analog to digital and back again many times as the messages traveled to their destinations. The ability for such a large network to operate on both analog and digital media made it easy to use existing telecommunication equipment. The ease of connecting to the Internet generated demand for services and speed. Engineering techniques allowed service providers to use the maximum bandwidth of existing cabling and transmission technologies. But it was not enough. Network users demanded a faster solution.

Click on each of the Internet and IP connectivity improvements to learn more.
  • The transition from analog to digital
  • IP addresses
  • Wireless networks
The World Wide Web’s Impact on Business
Easy and reliable access to the Internet and the World Wide Web has revolutionized how organizations conduct business. Physical places of commerce, often called brick-and-mortar stores, now have global reach through e-commerce. E-commerce changed how organizations sell, and the World Wide Web changed how organizations market their goods.

Click on each e-commerce topic to learn more.
  • E-commerce business models
  • Solving e-commerce business challenges
  • Customer service

In this section, you will have an opportunity to practice the concepts and processes that you have explored in this lesson.

The Demo Lab provided in this lesson guides you through the steps needed to perform the tasks of a networking specialist. You may review these guided interactions as many times as needed.

The Hands-On Lab provides you with an engaging learning experience that is diagnostic and flexible. Following the instructions provided in the Lab Manual, you will be able to practice the steps networking specialists perform on a daily basis and develop the skills required for effective communications and networking.

In this section, you will have an opportunity to apply what you have learned in this lesson. A scenario is provided here that depicts the challenges often faced by professionals in the workplace.

You will explore the scenario, review related critical information, research a topic, and present your findings. Complete your work by submitting the graded assignment.

You work as a networking consultant for Network Solutions Group (NSG).

One of NSG’s clients is a growing online retailer. Your contact at the firm, David, has indicated that their growth has meant that the flow of information within his company has become less efficient. He is looking for ways to give his employees improved access to information to help them make better and faster decisions.

You receive an e-mail message. You can see that it is from your client, David. Click on the e-mail icon to read the message.

Whew! We’ve been growing pretty fast here. It’s been great, but there have been some unintended consequences. Our people are starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of data and information they are dealing with. I know there are some ways to manage all this data. Can you describe what we can do to deal with this information overload?

You have learned in this lesson how business process management attempts to bring all communication mediums together into unified communications and how unified communications help connect people and businesses.

Research the latest developments in unified communications. Then write a paper that describes these developments.

For a checklist of action items, navigate to Course of Action on the right panel of the screen.

Use the following checklist as a guide to complete this assignment. Note that the tasks you have completed are already checked on the list.

  • Read the verbiage of the e-mail message from your client.
  • Consider all the factors that contribute to the challenge.
  • Research the latest developments in unified communications.
  • Write a paper that that describes these developments.
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The transition from analog to digital

Replacing the analog segments with digital segments often meant upgrading network access hardware and laying new cable. The result was a global network supported by newer hardware with far greater bandwidth than before. Expanding the digital components of the Internet and its supporting networks made it possible to support far more users than was ever possible using analog components. Today’s Internet can provide network access to large groups of users in population centers and still allow access using analog components to service more remote areas.

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IP addresses

For devices and computers to attach to the Internet, the only requirement is an Internet Protocol (IP) address from a recognized Internet service provider (ISP). The customer connects to the ISP’s network and uses the assigned IP address to exchange messages with other computers and devices on the Internet. Any computers or devices connected to the customer’s network can potentially access the Internet’s resources using the single ISP connection. The original IP address format, called IPv4, provides unique addresses for approximately 4.3 billion devices. However, that is no longer enough, so Internet users are in the process of transitioning to IPv6 with the ability to uniquely address 2^128, or 3.4 10^38 devices. Here is a comparison of IPv4 and IPv6:
Address
No. of bits:
Expressed as:
Example:
IPv4
32
a group of four bytes, separated by a period
192.168.1.254
IPv6
128
a group of eight 2-byte numbers (using hexadecimal notation) separated by colons
2001:db8:45a5:3:200:f8bf:fe21:67cf
The original designers of the Internet Protocol addressing standards set aside a range of private IP addresses that made it possible for devices to connect to the Internet without having to have a globally unique IP address. Private IP addresses are valid only for private networks and not the Internet. These addresses provide organizations with the ability to create their own networks with standard IP addresses. An organization needs a single public IP address from the ISP. All of the other IP addresses can be private addresses. IPv6 calls the equivalent of private IP addresses unique local addresses (ULAs). Organizations can assign IP addresses in the private address ranges or can set up a server or device to dynamically assign private IP addresses as needed. Dynamic addressing uses the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to request and assign IP addresses.
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Wireless networks

In the Internet's earlier days, a network connection required a physical cable. The last 10 years, however, have seen tremendous growth in wireless network capabilities and numbers of wireless devices. Wireless networks make it possible to connect computers and devices to home or business networks and the Internet where no network cables exist.

Many of today’s products either rely on an Internet connection or provide features that depend on an Internet connection. Network users can access printers, copiers, scanners, storage devices, and computers using the Internet. Of course, organizations must implement solid security controls to limit use to authorized users. Today is it easy to connect to the Internet with little regard for location. The number of locations without easy Internet access is rapidly decreasing. The easily available Internet connections and large number of IP-enabled devices have made Internet access a common feature of many electronic devices.
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Business process management (BPM)

One of the best ways to avoid information overload is to streamline business processes and minimize the amount of information users receive. The emphasis should be on process flow, required information, and process automation. This focus can reduce the amount of human input required to complete many business functions. Reduced user input allows personnel to focus on absorbing and interpreting smaller amounts of better quality information.

Aligning business processes and mapping each one to software applications and IT solutions is called business process management (BPM). The figure shows the BPM life cycle. BPM empowers organizations to be more productive and effective by reducing redundancy and increasing automation. The goal of BPM is to streamline business processes and create an environment that promotes competitive advantage and customer responsiveness.

Developing effective communications methods is a central focus of many BPM implementation projects. The BPM process often attempts to bring all communication mediums together into a unified structure. The final result of this effort is called unified communications (UC).

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Unified communications (UC)

An effective unified communications (UC) solution integrates real-time communication methods with other methods, such as voice mail, e-mail, and SMS or text messaging to provide the best all-around communications solution.

The UC analysis process often identifies outdated and inefficient processes. UC can improve communication efficiency by:
  • Reducing communication between modules and streamlining critical software applications
  • Making communication less time-consuming and increasing customer service effectiveness
  • Reducing wasted calls when managing customer relationships
  • Targeting critical decisions in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) process
  • Automating tedious portions of supply chain management (SCM) and sales force automation (SFA)

Analyzing current communication and using technology to unify communication methods can make an organization far more effective. UC generally reduces the number of messages sent and received while helping to ensure that each message goes to the correct recipient and contains just the information necessary to continue the business process.

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Benefits of unified communications

Potential benefits of unified communications include:

  • Better support of remote and mobile users, which reduces the number of workers that need a physical office
  • Increased ability to conduct teleconferences and video conferences, which can reduce travel expenses for meetings and training
  • Higher worker productivity and retention as remote worker support provides more flexibility to conform to personal needs and schedules
  • Reduced sales cycle timeline due to more effective communication with all parties involved in the sales effort
  • Shortened project timelines due to a reduced lag time in communications; better identification of communication paths to resolve questions and issues
  • Increased customer satisfaction due to more effective communication throughout the issue resolution process

The key to a solid UC plan is to understand the organization’s process and communication needs.